who/whose

Expert replies

veenu08: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 106; Joined: Sat Mar 30, 2013 11:55 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 1 times

by veenu08 » Sat Jan 25, 2014 10:16 am

Robinson is a botanist whose dream is to reestablish an authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii, a place now awash with introduced species of plants and animals.

A. who has the dream to reestablish an authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii,
B. whose dream it is to reestablish an authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii,
C. who it is his dream to reestablish an authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii,
D. that is dreaming to reestablish an authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii,
E. whose dream is to reestablish an authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii

[spoiler]OA E
Why not A[/spoiler]

Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sat Jan 25, 2014 10:16 am

theCodeToGMAT: Legendary Member; Posts: 1556; Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 11:18 pmFollowed by: 34 members; Thanked: 448 times; GMAT Score:650

by theCodeToGMAT » Sat Jan 25, 2014 7:59 pm

Robinson is a botanist whose dream is to reestablish an authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii, a place now awash with introduced species of plants and animals.

A. who has the dream to reestablish an authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii,
INCORRECT; here "who" seems to describe botanist and not Robinson..

E. whose dream is to reestablish an authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii
we use "whose" for possessive reference.. hence, is correctly describing Robinson.

R A H U L

GMAT/MBA Expert

[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Sat Jan 25, 2014 8:02 pm

Hi veenu08,

The technical explanation for answers A vs. E might come across as long-winded, so I'll do my best to keep it simple.

In answer A, the word "who" is a pronoun that represents the subject "Robinson." In this sentence, it comes across as redundant since we already know that Robinson is the subject. It would be the same as writing "Robinson is a Botanist and he has a dream…."; the sentence doesn't require a pronoun to be correct, so the pronoun probably shouldn't be there.

In answer E, the word "whose" is a possessive pronoun that links "dream" to "Robinson" (so we know it's Robinson's dream, without having to write "and he has a dream"). From a "style" standpoint, it's preferable to eliminate redundancies and this answer does so.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at [email protected]

Featured schoolRound 2 closes Jan 7, 2027 67 days left

Chicago Booth

Since 1982, 10 Booth faculty members have received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, more than any other business school.

#3
U.S. News rank: $175,000
Median base salary: 670
Average GMAT Focus: 635
Students in the class

Apply to Booth Visit chicagobooth.edu See the full profile

Photo: Warren LeMay, CC BY-SA 2.0

GMAT Course Reviews

563 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (563 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review